I found Steve Coll's lecture to be very interesting and applicable to many topics we have discussed in all of our FIG classes. As the head of Journalism/Mass Communication at Columbia University, it is no surprise that he had very insightful viewpoints of and a wide range of experiences in today's Digital Era. He related sites like Reddit and Twitter to the information explosions surrounding events like the Boston Marathon Bombings and the Aurora shooting. One of his points was particularly interesting: "In the euphoria around the Web and the possibility of a Digital Era, we have spent too much time talking about the technology and not enough time talking about the journalism." He also said that the right question to ask about modern technology is: "How can it make us better?"
With these two quotes, I formulated my own question. I'm not sure if there is a definitive answer, but I believe that Coll would want us to ask ourselves this the next time we rely too much on technology for the wrong reasons:
In this Digital Era, would we enhance our experience with technology if we prioritized journalism and information distribution over opportunities for social interactions?
1 comment:
In response to your question, I'd like to think so! I'm glad you were able to attend this lecture.
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